


Liar

by Rainewritesfanfics



Series: Chat Blanc [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Anger, Chat Blanc - Freeform, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lies, Lila looks real bad, Minor Violence, Other, ml salt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 20:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20020543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainewritesfanfics/pseuds/Rainewritesfanfics
Summary: Just days after Ladybug’s death, Lila picks the wrong lie to tell Alya and the surviving members of Team Miraculous.





	Liar

**Author's Note:**

  * For [V_fics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/V_fics/gifts).



> This one is longer and written differently than the preceding stories, but I hope you enjoy it still!

Alya sank into her seat, not even bothering to lift her head throughout the lessons. Neither Miss Bustier nor Mme Mendeliev gave her a hard time as the day dragged on.

It had only been a few days since Ladybug...well, Alya couldn’t even think the word without tears stinging her eyes. 

The whole city was in shock. In mourning. And Chat Blanc was still out there.

Alya sat in Adrien’s empty seat, unable to bear sitting in her row now that Marinette’s spot would forever remain empty.

The class didn’t know she’d been Ladybug. They just knew her name was on the list of casualties. 

Not even Rose could smile today. How could they when their everyday Ladybug was gone?

Kim kept glancing at Marinette’s empty seat and looking away when tears sprung to his eyes. 

Nathaniel had snapped about 30 minutes into class. Shouting about how stupid everything was now that Marinette and Marc were gone.

For once, Miss Bustier was at a loss. She was still too upset by the loss of her students to walk him through calming techniques.

So many students had died or gone missing in the fight. And that didn’t even account for the injuries. 

Alix was the one who finally calmed Nathaniel enough for class to make an attempt at resuming. 

When the lunch bell rang, Nino helped Alya onto her crutches. His broken nose looked almost as bad as they both felt.

The school felt wrong. Too much space. Too few students. The bitter sting of grief and failure tore at Alya’s soul once more. 

Adrien was among those missing after the battle. 

Alya hated to think that she and Nino had both lost their best friends that day, but it had been three days and there was no sign of the boy. When asked, Nathalie had refused to comment. 

It didn’t sit well with them.

Wordlessly, Chloe joined Alya and Nino at their table. Her lip was still swollen, and her arm was in a sling. The bags under her eyes were beginning to look as bad as her bruises. 

“Still can’t sleep?” Alya asked.

Chloe scoffed. “Looks like you can’t either.”

“How’s Sabrina,” Nino asked after a stretch of silence. 

“She’s going to be okay; thank god.” Chloe shook her head. “I couldn’t lose them both.”

Alya slammed her fists on the table, making their trays jump. “I feel so lost.”

“Me too,” Chloe admitted. She poked her salad with her fork but made no move to eat. “God, I was terrible to her.” Regret almost trapped the words in Chloe’s throat. No one had to ask which ‘her’ she meant.

Chloe’s head tipped back as she stared blankly into the horrendously bright sky. “And now I can never make things right between us.”

Nino fiddled with his scarf, and for a split second, the girls could see the claw marks on his throat. Chat’s claw marks.

“What do we do now?” Nino asked. “What can we do now? Without her? Against him?”

“I don’t know.” Alya’s hands clenched into fists. “I don’t know. But I’m not going to let Hawk Moth go unpunished. He killed my best friend, dozens more, and quite possibly Adrien, too! We can’t just sit here!”

Lila’s silky voice startled them. “Sorry,” she said, gently. “Was I interrupting something?”

Chloe glared. “Yes.”

Alya gave Chloe a look. “No, Lila. Go ahead and take a seat.” A heavy sigh left Alya’s lips. “I was just venting.” God, she thought. Venting? What a paltry word for the agitated rage and loss swirling inside of her.

Lila hesitated a moment before setting her tray down across from Alya’s. She had a dark purple mark under her eye, and one of her arms was wrapped in bandages. 

Alya frowned again. Hawkmoth just kept hurting her friends.

The dramatic sigh that blew Lila’s bangs out of her eyes is what snapped Alya’s attention back to lunch.

“Lila? You good, girl?”

“Yeah, totally!” Lila glanced down furtively and shoveled some food into her mouth.

Alya’s eyes narrowed. “What happened?”

Green eyes widened. Lila opened and closed her mouth a few times and looked around. 

“Okay...” Lila leaned in closer. “The truth is, I have a secret.”

Chloe’s ears perked up. “What kind of secret?”

Lila fiddled with a golden chain that was peaking out over the edge of her collar. Her eyes filled with tears. “The truth is, I was there. I saw Ladybug die.”

Nino’s gasp reminded Alya to breathe. “You were there?” Alya repeated, her eyes widening in fear. Had she seen? She must have seen Marinette...

Lila nodded, dabbing at her eyes. “You see, I’m secretly Rena Rouge.” Lila whispered it, as though she was trusting them with her most prized possession.

An eerie silence swept the table, and Lila misread the tone. “Look,” she cried. “Here’s my miraculous.” She had fished the foxtail pendant out from her blouse, showing it to the three of them. 

It was a perfect replica in almost every way, but it could never match the heavy silver necklace currently hidden by Alya’s black sweater. 

She almost snapped right there, but Nino’s warm gaze caught her eye, and she checked her rage just in time for Chloe to burst out laughing. 

There was no humor in the laugh. In fact, it was almost menacing. A few other students turned their heads. “Oh yeah, Rossi?” Chloe’s laughter morphed into a glare. “Unlike you, I was there. Everyone in Paris can attest to that. You are no Rena Rouge.”

“How can you say that?” Lila cried, looking to Alya for support before turning back to Chloe and the class. “Ladybug was my best friend! “

Alya went cold. Suddenly, she had a moment of horrible, perfect clarity. Marinette had hated Lila. Sweet supportive Marinette. Marinette who had still picked Alya to fight alongside her after she’d sided with Lila for weeks.

Lila was still talking. Why wouldn’t she shut up? How did she just keep lying like that? Alya felt her anger rising. Is this how Marinette must have felt?

“I did everything I could!” Lila insisted, her sweet lies acting as a balm for the fresh wounds of the school. “I put my life on the line for this cit-“

She never saw the slap coming.

One moment, she was preaching her lies, the next, Alya’s palm sent her flying to the ground.

Alya was panting, her eyes narrowed and her lips pulled back in a snarl. 

“A-Alya!” Lila held her cheek, her surprise genuine. A moment later, her expression changed, and she started crying. “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this? Did Marinette say something to you?”

Wrong move.

The whole class flinched at the name. 

Nino had to hold her back from tackling Lila and beating her into a pulp.

“How dare you!” Alya shrieked. “How dare you say her name! You filthy liar!” She thrashed in Nino’s arms. Her bloodlust clouded her brain. “I bet you’re not even injured!”

“Alya,” Rose began, shocked by the outburst.

“Shut up! Shut up! Lila’s been lying about everything! Marinette was right about you! And now! Now-“ Alya sobbed. “She’s dead.” It was her first time saying it. Her heart shattered into millions of little pieces. Snot started to join her tears. “Do you know how I know you’re lying?” Alya asked, the fight draining out of her body. Her weight now held only by her crutches and Nino’s reassuring arms.

The class remained silent; everyone waiting with bated breath.

More sobs breached Alya’s lips. “Because Marinette said so. She told me over and over. Jagged Stone never had a kitten. He never wrote a song about you. And I- I never believed her.”

Lila sniffled, clearly preparing to spin this however she wanted now that Alya was done.

Chloe never gave her the chance. She grabbed Lila by the collar and yanked her to her feet. “For those of you still inclined to believe this liar,” she hissed, her voice cold enough to induce frost burn, “let me remind you that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Jagged Stone’s personal designer. That she designed his album covers and that he actually did dedicate a song to her.” Chloe looked away as tears streamed down her face. “The same one he sang at her funeral.”

Everyone looked down, their trust in Lila quickly fracturing. And now, with Marinette’s death thrown in their faces, they remembered all the horrible things they had said about her treatment of Lila.

“That still doesn’t mean I’m lying,” Lila squeaked, trying to get away from Chloe. 

“No, but this does,” Chloe growled, swiping a napkin across Lila’s face.

As one, the students and teachers who had gathered gasped. Purple eyeshadow smudged across the once-white paper. 

Chloe threw Lila down on the ground and walked away. “You disgust me.” 

When everyone had left Lila crying and alone in the courtyard, she begged for Hawkmoth to send an akuma. To let her get even. But no butterfly ever came.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bash Lila, but I just could’t get the idea of Alya snapping out of my head.


End file.
